Labour board rules Metroland Muskoka unit "inappropriate" without production

Labour board rules Metroland Muskoka bargaining unit must be all-inclusive

An Ontario Labour Relations Board panel ruled Sept. 18 that the proposed bargaining unit that the union had requested for Metroland's Bracebridge/Gravenhurst operation is "inappropriate" because it didn't include the production department, one of four departments in the office.

Metroland Muskoka employees have been waiting since they cast their ballots on August 10, 2011 for the labour board decision.

The board decision centres around who is, and isn't, included in the bargaining unit.
The union's application for certification included editorial, admin and sales employees at the Bracebridge office and at its satellite office in Gravenhurst.
The certification application did not include production staff and the employer claimed that it would be a serious disruption to labour relations to have a workplace where everyone but the production staff was unionized.
The union has argued that the company had already announced that it is outsourcing the production staff to India so it’s obvious that their work isn’t so integrated into the other departments that it would be harmful to the business to leave them out of the union. Besides, there are many examples at newspapers where the production department is, or isn’t, organized separately from other departments.
In the end, the Ontario Labour Relations Board decided that it was important to prevent the fragmentation of collective bargaining by insisting on an "all-inclusive" bargaining unit. Yet to be determined is whether, with the addition of the production department in the vote count, the union had the required 40% of the workforce signed to union membership cards necessary to trigger a vote. If the union didn't have the 40% required, the votes may not be counted. The ballot boxes have remained sealed by the labour board since the vote took place.
The hearings began Feb. 27, 2012 and concluded with final arguments on August 7.